The Great One and I have found that picking for others is not quite the same as picking for ourselves. It seems our eclectic taste is a bit rare. And his idea and my idea of what others will like are pretty comparable to the difference in day and night.

Staging and pricing find us at opposite ends of the spectrum, as well. But one thing we do agree on - we need to spend more time hitting auctions, church sales, estate sales and yard sales. Even when we come home empty-handed (which rarely happens) we’ve had a great time.

It didn’t take me long to learn that the Great One needs to be kept on a very short leash at Roumillat’s or Carriage House auctions. He has been known to come away with items that I never would have approved, if I had been paying attention (also known as stifling his urge to splurge) instead of running my mouth.

And then he has a habit of scanning the receipt when settling up only to find days later that his initial scanning was lacking in attention to detail and thus, we paid for an item left behind that we don’t even remember bidding on. Fortunately, Roumillat’s held onto the item for us. There it was, his number big as day scrawled in chalk. He’s trying to blame it on me, however, he keeps such a death grip on the bid number, there is no way I could pry it out of his hands without causing a major scene that would be difficult to forget.

We’re getting a little better at looking at what an item can be instead of what it is. And he has learned that his old standby, the Force Theory, isn’t always the best option when trying to repair or refurbish.

When we first started going to auctions, we came ill-prepared. We had cash but lacked snacks and drinks. After 3 hours at our first Carriage House auction, even though it was still going strong, hunger and thirst won out.

It also took us a few times before the light bulb went off and we thought about bringing a bin and bubble-wrap. Unfortunately, the bulb must have been a very dim nightlight. We forgot that the bin “can’t take feet and walk” (one of Miss Edna’s favorite sayings). All those breakables and no way to protect them because the bin of bubble-wrap was left sitting at home on the front porch.

So what has been our best auction buy to date? Would believe you a refrigerator for $27.50. I don't mean a little dorm fridge. I'm talking a full-sized Whirlpool refrigerator/freezer. It took a lot of elbow grease and various cleaning concoctions, but it works and makes a great garage fridge!